Expected weather forces relocation of National Honours ceremony

Due to inclement weather, the venue for this year’s Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards has been changed to the National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew.

The update was provided in a social media post from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) on Friday.

The ceremony is scheduled to start at 9am, and award recipients are being asked to arrive at the venue at 7:30 am on Monday.

All guests attending the function should be seated by 8am for the official arrivals beginning at 8:30 am.

The ceremony was originally scheduled to be held on the lawns of King's House as customary, but a tropical wave is expected to bring showers to the island on the weekend going into next week.

Two hundred and thirty-two Jamaicans are to be officially recognised for their contributions to nation building during the ceremony.

Professor Wendel Dwight Abel, who is to receive the Order of Jamaica (OJ) for his contribution to psychiatry, particularly in mental and community health, leads the list of awardees.

Other OJ awardees are Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett; Minister of National Security and Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Horace Anthony Chang; Businessman Gary Craig ‘Butch’ Hendrickson; Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Patrice Marks; former Custos of Clarendon, William Leon ‘Billy’ Shagoury; Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) Chairman, Lyttleton Ovel ‘Tanny’ Shirley; and Chief Executive Officer of the GraceKennedy Group, Senator Donald George Wehby.

Thirty persons are to be conferred with the Order of Distinction (in the rank of Commander (CD); 38 the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Officer (OD); two civilians to receive the Badge of Honour for Gallantry; 35 the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service; and 35 the Badge of Honour for Long and Faithful Service.

The Badge of Honour for Gallantry is to be awarded to two individuals – Professor Randolph Alphanso Henry and Jermaine Ricardo Hurst. Both individuals demonstrated remarkable courage by helping persons in life-threatening situations.

The late Constable Ricardo Nicolas Fairclough of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is to receive the Medal of Honour for Gallantry, posthumously. Constable Fairclough lost his life after bravely confronting an armed gunman in a shootout, selflessly working to save the life of a vendor in St Ann’s Bay.

The particular medal is awarded to members of the uniformed services for acts of gallantry, heroism or extraordinary courage in perilous situations.

Several members of the uniformed groups are to be awarded the Medal of Honour for meritorious service – six from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), 26 members of the JCF, 27 from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), and 24 from the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB).